An Obama-era regulation that would have prevented roughly 75,000 people with mental disorders from having the ability to purchase a firearm was blocked by a Republican-led Senate during a recent vote.
According to critics of the rule, it was too broad and discriminated against the disabled in an unfair manner.
Under the Obama administration, the rule called for the strengthening of background checks to require the Social Security Administration to include the names of beneficiaries with mental impairments who also have a third party to manage their benefits.
This is just the latest Obama administration regulation to be rescinded since a Republican presence has been in the White House.
The measure to block the regulation now moves to President Trump, who is expected to sign it.
Passed House without amendment (02/02/2017)
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
This joint resolution nullifies the “Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007” rule finalized by the Social Security Administration on December 19, 2016. The rule implements a plan to provide to the National Instant Criminal History Background Check System the name of an individual who meets certain criteria, including that benefit payments are made through a representative payee because the individual is determined to be mentally incapable of managing them. (Current law prohibits firearm sale or transfer to and purchase or possession by a person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective.)
